What's been happening with Sears can be one of two things: it's either one of the best, meticulously planned schemes nobody yet understands and the final goal of which we'll find out in the next year or so, or it's a perfect example of complete inaptitude and incompetence on part of the leadership and will in the future be used as an example to teach about how NOT to run a company. There is no inbetween. And I'm leaning towards the second option.
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Sears is being used as the anti-way to run a business case. I 1000% agree with the post regarding that Town Hall. I knew then too. It was over. Eddie knew better & wanted only yes men.
Sears could have been saved but he would not listen to those who actually knew something about the company.
Option 3 is LP taking over operations.
I recall in one of the "Town Hall" meetings when Eddie actually showed up in person in Hoffman, might have been around 2016 or so.... he allowed questions from the employees. One brave woman asked him point blank about the falling stock prices, failed initiatives and management turnover and you could tell he became quite irritated and basically criticized her in front of the audience, saying we need to all be positive and not focus on the negative... we need to "Think big"... blah blah... that's when I knew we were doomed. Eddie's ego got in the way. He kept talking about "EBITA" saying it was climbing but all the time we were deeply in the red.
In the business school they are teaching kids not to run business like Sears Holdings did. First rule, never allowed an hedge fund manager run a retail company. No matter how smart he thought he was.